The latest series of taxpayer funded TV ads run by the Campbell government are nothing more than misleading propaganda. The ads talk about people "moving back" to BC although data are not published on how many of the people moving to BC previously lived here.

Statistics Canada publishes data on interprovincial migrants. People are always moving between provinces. Between 1989 and 1995, over 70,000 people per year moved to BC from other parts of Canada, and over 70% of those migrants were between the ages of 18 and 64. In 2001 in-migration to BC from other provinces declined to 43,338; it is forecast to bounce back to 58,160 in 2004 but that is still far below the level of the early 90s. Only 58% of BC's 2004 in-migrants are between the ages of 18 and 64.

The government's ad campaign suggests that people are moving back to BC because of the government's policies. The truth is that people have always moved to BC; now they are doing so in fewer numbers than they were a decade ago.

The Campbell Liberal party raises millions of dollars each year from corporate donors ($3.7 million in 2003, 71% of all donations it received); if they want to spend that money on misleading TV ads, they can. They shouldn't be surprised to find that spending tax money to broadcast partisan propaganda will encourage more people to support anyone but Gordon Campbell.